Category Archives: Curry and Fries

Ah..what can I say to praise this darling! This curry with a little daal ( lentil soup ) and hot boiled rice makes me feel heavenly. This is a very popular Bengali dish which is very easy to prepare and the ingredients are also very basic.

Chopped potatoes

Potato and White Poppy Seeds curry or Alu Posto

Things needed :

Potato – 4, medium sized. Potatoes must not be sweet, or else the taste will be spoiled. I don’t like even slightly sweet potato for this particular dish.

Turmeric powder / paste – 1 tsp. I always like to make my own raw turmeric paste. If you don’t want to yellow up your ingredients or your hands etc., or if you don’t like the smell or whatever, you can always use turmeric powder

Salt – as needed

Oil – 4 tbsp., or as you usually use. I generally use olive oil for cooking, but for this particular dish I prefer mustard oil

How to cook :

Wash and peel the potatoes. Chop them into small square blocks as shown in the picture

Grind the white poppy seeds with the green chilies and little water. Don’t make a fine paste, rather make a coarse one. The paste should not be runny

Heat oil in a wok. Throw in the chopped potatoes. Fry until they become golden and little bit soft. This may take around 15 minutes in medium heat

Add the paste made from white poppy seeds and green chilies and mix very well. Also mix the turmeric powder / paste

Add salt and 1/2 cup water. Cook covered till the potatoes are cooked. Stir now and then to avoid sticking to the bottom of the wok. The curry should not be runny nor too much dry, but something in between them

Like this:

I’m a great fan of white poppy seeds. When used with the right ingredients it can deliver wonderful dishes. Previously I posted about “Chicken with white poppy seeds” . In my next series of posts I will write about dishes with white poppy seeds. To start with let’s cook onion with white poppy seeds. Please don’t try these with black poppy seeds because black poppy seeds are bitter in taste and so the dishes will be ruined.

Step 1 – Fry onions

Onion with white poppy seeds

Ingredients :

Onion – 6 ( medium ) : chopped into thin and small pieces

Green chilies – 5

White poppy seeds – 5 tbsp

Turmeric Paste – 1 tsp. If using turmeric powder use 1/2 tsp. I love to make my own turmeric paste with raw turmeric which gives it a very original flavour. You can always use turmeric powder though if you don’t want to go through all the grinding manoeuvre , which will yellow-up your hands ( which is very hygienic though! ) and grinding pot

Salt – as needed

Cooking oil – 2 tbsp

Method :

Heat oil in a pan. Throw in the chopped onions. Fry till they become somewhat golden brown or golden. This may take 7-8 minutes, but always be careful not to burn or overcook the onions

In the meantime, grind white poppy seeds with two green chilies and 4-5 tbsp of water. Do not add extra water if you feel that the paste will become very runny. Don’t make a fine paste, let it be bit coarse ( this is important! The coarse paste will add texture and enhanced taste to the food )

Chop the remaining 3 green chilies into ringlets and add with the onions

Add the paste to the pan with onions and mix well. Add salt and cook for 7-8 minute

Stir occasionaly to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pan. Be careful not to burn the whole thing

Like this:

I saw one cauliflower sitting in my fridge and thought of cooking something spicy with it. So I made as we Bengalis call it “Kosha Phulkopi” or Spicy Cauliflower or Spicy Gobi. It was very tasty..you can have it with boiled rice or roti. Here is the process :

Things needed :

Cauliflower – 1 (medium)

Onion – 1 large (chopped in small pieces)

Tomato – 2 medium (chopped)

Potato – 1 large ( peeled and chopped in medium sized cubes )

Ginger paste – 2 tsp

Garlic paste – 2 tsp

Cinnamon stick – 1 1/2 inch

Green Cardamom – 2

Clove – 2

Cumin powder – 2 tsp

Red Chili powder – 2 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp. If using turmeric paste then you can use 2 tsp of it. I personally prefer to use raw turmeric and make a paste from it. It really tastes better from the powdered one

Heat oil in a wok and throw in the cinnamon stick, green cardamoms and cloves and fry them for few minutes until you get the spicy smell, but be careful not to burn them

Add the potatoes and fry until they become golden

Add the chopped onion pieces and saute until they become transparent

Now add ginger paste, garlic paste, turmeric powder (or paste), cumin powder, red chili powder, salt and mix well. Cook on low flame and stir occasionally until the raw smell is no more. It can take 8-10 minutes. If it sticks to much to the bottom add 2-3 tsp of water and stir continuously

Add the chopped tomatoes and smash them in the wok with your ladle. Add the curd/yogurt and blend very well

Add the cauliflower florets and mix well with everything in the wok. By this also add the garam masala

Cook under cover for around 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a little water if needed

Heat oil in a pan. Make a single small cut in each egg but don’t divide them entirely. This is to avoid possibility of sputtering when added to hot oil. Fry the eggs lightly till they turn golden, remove from oil and keep aside

Now throw in the cinnamon stick, peppercorns and the cardamoms in the oil, fry for 1-2 minutes, be careful not to burn them

Add onion and fry until they become somewhat pink. It may take 4-5 minutes on high flame

Add ginger paste, garlic paste, turmeric paste ( or powder ), cumin powder, red chili powder, salt and mix well and saute for 6-7 minutes or until the raw smell goes away. In this process if it sticks too much in the pan add very little water, be careful not to add too much water or else the spice mixture will not give the desired taste

Now add tomato and crush them with your spatula, saute for 2-3 minutes

Add the eggs and move them carefully to mix well with the whole mixture. Add ghee, garam masala and 1-2 cups of water. Cook covered in medium flame until you get a thick gravy. It may take 8-10 minutes